Brake-operating mechanism.



N. KROHN.

BRAKE OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULYIB, 1915..

1,175,645 Patented Mar. 14,1916.

fw weam' M [,s. Fro/5% THE COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH c0., WASHINGTON, D. c.

UNTTEE SATES PATENT @FFTCE.

NELS KROHN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, TO THE ADAMS & WESTLAKECOMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

BRAKE-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Application filed July 19, 1915.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, New KROHN, a citizen of the United States, andresident of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Brake-OperatingMechanism, of which the following is a specification, and which areillustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

The invention relates to mechanism for operating the brakes of railwaycars, and of the type in which a pawl is oscillatably mounted within acasing which swings about the axis of the brake staff, the pawl beingprovided with a handle whereby it may be thrown into engagement with thecooperating ratchet on the staff by the brake-winding movement. A deviceof this kind is shown and broadly claimed in my co-pending applicationSerial No. 40,725.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple and cheap,yet effective form of construction; and it consists of a structure suchas is hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 is a detail plan view of the device, withthe cover plate of the ratchet and pawl-inclosing casing removed; Fig. 2is a detail side elevation of the device; Fig. 3 is a detail section onthe line 33 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the ratchet andpawl-inclosing casing, showing the operating handle in section; and Fig.5 is a detail of a wall of the casing and a portion of the pawl, showinga modified form of constructicn.

The usual brake staff is shown at 10, and as being journaled at itsupper end in a wall bracket 11, adapted to be attached to a part of arailway car. A holding ratchet 12 is fixed upon the staff adjacent thebracket, and a hand-operated pawl 13, pivoted to the bracket 11,cooperates with this ratchet. The ratchet 12 is preferably provided witha sleeve 14, which extends upwardly through the bearing plate 15 whichforms a part of the bracket 11, this sleeve constituting the journal forthe staff. A ratchet wheel 16 fits upon the sleeve 14, and a pin 17, setthrough this wheel, the sleeve 14, and the staff 10, rigidly fixes theseparts together. A casing 18 incloses the ratchet wheel 16, its bottomwall being apertured to receive the sleeve 1A and turn freely thereon.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 1%, 1916.

Serial No. 40,726.

A pawl 19, mounted within the casing 18, cooperates with the ratchetwheel 16. This pawl is provided with a heel 20, having a bearing on therear side wall of the casing 18; In the construction as shown in Fig. 1,this heel is rounded and slides upon a complementary face formed on thewall of the casing. At its forward side the pawl 19 is provided with atoe, 21, which is in sliding engagement with a curved face 22 formed onthe adjacent side wall of the casing. This construction permits the pawlto rock on its ieel, the toe serving to guide it in its oscillatingmovement.

An operating handle 23 is attached to the pawl 19. A drop handle isshown, its attachment to the pawl being by means of a pivot pin 24. Asthe handle is moved forwardly in a direction to wind up the brake, itsfirst action is to throw the nose of the pawl 19 into engagement withthe teeth of the ratchet 16, further movement carrying the pawl, thecasing. the ratchet wheel and the staff with it. When moved in theopposite direction the handle first rocks the pawl backwardly on itsheel, disengaging its nose from the ratchet wheel, the staff being heldby the ratchet 12, and permitting the casing to swing back freely for arenewed engagement of the pawl with the ratchet.

A stop 25, formed on the bracket 11, limits the backward movement of thecasing, and should a rigid handle be employed suitable means may beprovided for holding it in its retracted position when not in service,the pawl 19 being disengaged from the ratchet. When a drop handle isemployed, as shown. provision is made for automatically holding the pawlout of engagement with the ratchet when the handle is lowered. For thispurpose the slot in the bottom 26 of the casing 18, which receives thehandle when lowered, is formed with an inclined face 27, which acts uponthe handle as a cam deflecting it to throw the pawl into the positicnindicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1.

As shown. in Fig. 5. in place of the heel 20, as represented in Fig. 1,the heel of the pawl 19 may be a simple lug 28, fitting loosely within apocket 29 in the side wall of the casing.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a brake mechanism, in combination, arotatable staff, a ratchet fixed on the stafi, a casing oscillatableabout the stafi axis, a

pawl cooperating with the ratchet and having a rocking bearing on onewall of the casing and a sliding bearing on the opposite wall thereof,and a handle attached to the pawl.

2. In a brake mechanism, in combination, a rotatable staff, a ratchetfixed on the staff, a casing oscillatable about 'the staff axis, a pawlcooperating with the ratchet and hav- 10 ing a rocking bearing on onewall of the casing and a sliding bearing on the opposite NELS KROHN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

